Pakistani novelist to speak at Baker Institute

Pakistani novelist to speak at Baker Institute

BAPSI SIDHWA

Novelist Bapsi Sidhwa will speak on “Pakistan: History and Women’s Rights Issues” at James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Sept. 11. The lecture will be held in the James A. Baker III Hall, Dore Commons, at 7 p.m.

Sidhwa’s third novel, “Cracking India,” was described by the New York Times as “One of the finest responses made to the horror of the division of the subcontinent.” It also was made into the film “Earth” by Canadian director Deepa Mehta.

Sidhwa has received numerous prizes and awards, including Pakistan’s highest honor in the arts, the Sitari-I-Imtiaz, Germany’s LiBeraturepreis, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Award and a Bunting Fellowship from Harvard.

Born in Karachi and raised in Lahore, Sidhwa now lives in the U.S. She served on former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s advisory committee on women’s development and has taught at Columbia University, Mount Holyoke College, Brandeis University and the University of Houston.